Mixing is twiddling knobs so people can be heard.
A mixer is an intimidating board with an absurd number of knobs. It is nice to know what they all do, even if you don’t need them all.
You will probably have one or two microphones at your action, plus music from a phone or laptop.
Having a phone ready is huge, as you can use it not only for music, but for pre-recorded speeches and to have folks call in to the demo on Zoom or Signal audio. Try to avoid using regular phone calls as the quality is really bad.
We have also had people show up with guitars, full DJ decks, and laptops.
A mixer lets you handle all of that, and even all at once so there can be music behind chants.
We have found the ideal mixer (cost, features, size) to be the Peavy PV6BT. It has space for two mics, bluetooth for you phone, and a USB audio interface, which allows you to easily set up for internet radio broadcasting, zoom broadcasting, or facebook live with the high qualitu sound that comes right off the mixer.
This video starts with mic sani procedures, but goes on to talk about feeback prevention and phone hookup.
Feedback is a loud screaming noise that occurs when a microphone is able to pick up sound from the speaker. The signal gets louder with every trip around the loop, and sounds worse and worse.
Here are the two most important things you need to know to prevent feedback.
#1 – Keep all of your microphones behind the main loudspeakers. This lowers the chances of a feedback loop starting from the main speakers back to the microphone. There is a “feedback zone” in front of speakers, typically a triangular zone coming
#2 – Have people hold the microphone very close to their mouths to get a strong signal at the microphone. Placing the microphone too far away causes you to turn up the gain and makes the mic more likely to feedback.
If feedback does happen, try to quickly identify the source, and then follow one of these quick tips:
- Mute it. If you have to stop feedback fast, mute the channel. It’s better to have no sound than to have a high pitched scream kill the vibe (and potentially damage your speakers).
- Turn it down. Sometimes all you need to do to keep a mic from feeding back is turn it down a small amount. It might not even affect the sound that much, but a small volume reduction can keep a feedback loop from happening.